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Bengali
BIOGRAPHY OF
Tajuddin Ahmed
(First Prime Minister of Bangladesh)
(July 23 1925- 3 November 1975)
A BIOGRAPHY OF TAJUDDIN AHMED
Tajuddin Ahmad was a prominent political figure and one of the founding fathers of Bangladesh, who played a crucial role in the country’s independence movement. Born on July 23, 1925, in Kapasia, Dhaka, Tajuddin Ahmad went on to become a visionary leader and a symbol of hope for millions of Bengalis.
He was a brilliant student and obtained a degree in Economics from the University of Dhaka, where he was also actively involved in student politics. Tajuddin Ahmad’s political career took off when he joined the Awami Muslim League in 1949, which later became the Awami League. He quickly rose through the ranks and became a trusted advisor to the party’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
During the turbulent years leading up to the Bangladesh Liberation War, Tajuddin Ahmad played a key role in organizing the resistance movement against the oppressive Pakistani regime. He was one of the masterminds behind the historic March 7th speech of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which is considered a defining moment in the history of Bangladesh.
Following Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, Tajuddin Ahmad became the country’s first Prime Minister and worked tirelessly to rebuild the war-torn nation. Despite facing numerous challenges, including a devastating famine, he remained committed to his vision of a prosperous and democratic Bangladesh.
Tajuddin Ahmad’s contributions to Bangladesh’s independence movement and his role in shaping the country’s early years as an independent nation has earned him widespread admiration and respect. He will always be remembered as a true patriot and a visionary leader who dedicated his life to the service of his country and its people.
Known For: First Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Born: July 23, 1925
Age: 50
Birthplace: Kapasia, Gazipur, Bangladesh
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Father: Maulavi Muhammad Yasin Khan
Mother: Meherunnesa Khanam
Siblings: Afsaruddin Ahmad (brother)
Education:
Dhaka College
University of Dhaka
Spouse: Syeda Zohra Tajuddin
Children:
Sharmin Ahmad (Reepi)
Simeen Hussain Rimi
Mahjabin Ahmad (Mimi)
Sohel Taj
Death: 3 November 1975
Death by: Assassination
Early Life
Tajuddin Ahmad Khan was the eldest of nine siblings, born on 23 July 1925 in the village of Dardaria located in the Dhaka district of the Bengal Presidency in British India (now known as Gazipur District in Bangladesh). He was raised in a conservative, middle-class Muslim family, by Maulavi Muhammad Yasin Khan and Meherunnesa Khanam. The Bengal province, which consisted of two distinct regions, East and West Bengal, was the eastern frontier of India.
West Bengal had a Hindu majority population and was home to the provincial capital Kolkata a thriving center of trade and culture. On the other hand, in East Bengal, where Tajuddin grew up mostly the population was poor peasant Muslims. Tajuddin’s formative years were marked by the end of British rule in India, famines, communal tensions, and other problems.
Bengal was a hotbed of anti-British activism, and Tajuddin’s political activism began at a very young age, sometimes interrupting his studies. He found inspiration in the anti-British activists of Bengal.
Tajuddin Ahmed lost his father when he was twenty-two. He understood his responsibility and like a mature person took over the family duties.
Education
Tajuddin attended multiple schools in Gazipur. After that he decided to move to Dhaka, which was his district headquarters and the primary town in East Bengal, to continue his studies. In Dhaka, he enrolled in Saint Gregory’s High School and completed his matriculation in 1944, securing the 12th position in undivided Bengal. Despite his academic success, Tajuddin lost interest in formal education for three years due to his activism.
However, his mother convinced him to resume his studies, and he was admitted to Dhaka College. Tajuddin’s activism made it difficult for him to attend classes regularly, which prevented him from taking the Intermediate of Arts examination from the college. Instead, he took the examination as an irregular student from a private college in 1948 and secured the fourth position in East Bengal. Tajuddin later obtained a BA with honors in Economics from the University of Dhaka.
Career
Tajuddin Joining Muslim League
During the end of British rule in India and rising tensions between Hindus and Muslims, the All-India Muslim League initiated the Pakistan Movement in 1940, calling for a separate state for Muslims. The Muslim League, founded in Dhaka in 1906, was mostly led by feudal elites and lacked grassroots organization in Bengal. In 1943, Abul Hashim became the general secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League, succeeding Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. Tajuddin, a school student at the time, joined the Muslim League in the same year. Hashim aimed to create a leftist faction within the Muslim League and reformed the organization. He helped to establish the Muslim League party office in Dhaka in 1944. Tajuddin was one of the four full-time party workers and assisted Kamruddin Ahmed who was a schoolteacher and later a lawyer.
The Muslim League in East Bengal was traditionally dominated by the Nawab family of Dhaka, whose residential palace, Ahsan Manzil, served as the party headquarters. A rift developed between the Ahsan Manzil group and the 150 Moghultuli group led by Hashim, Kamruddin, and Tajuddin. The Ahsan Manzil group, led by Khwaja Nazimuddin and Khwaja Shahabuddin, labeled Hashim and his followers as communists in disguise, while the Moghultuli group contested elections in district party committees and won a surprising victory against Shahabuddin’s intrigues in the 1944 Dhaka district committee elections.
The Pakistan Movement gained momentum after the Second World War and the Hindu-Muslim communal riots in Bengal in 1946. In August 1947, India was partitioned, and Pakistan was created, resulting in mass migration and violence. Pakistan consisted of two non-contiguous wings, with the West Wing comprising four provinces and the East Wing consisting of only East Bengal. Hashim and Suhrawardy opposed the partition of Bengal and did not immediately migrate to Pakistan. However, despite leading the Pakistan cause, the Muslim League’s inadequacy to lead Pakistan as a nation was apparent to some factions within it. In July 1947, a month before the partition of India, a group of skeptics from the 150 Moghultuli Lane-based Muslim League, led by Kamruddin Ahmed, formed the Gano Azadi League, a civil rights organization that held progressive views on various issues, including the economy, culture, and education. Other founding members of the Gano Azadi League included Oli Ahad and Mohammad Toaha.
Early Activism
Tajuddin resided as a student in Fazlul Huq Muslim Hall at Dhaka University during the early years of Pakistan’s independence. The political atmosphere in East Bengal was tense due to ongoing tensions between East and West Pakistan, with the ruling Muslim League provincial government primarily siding with West Pakistan. Tajuddin was an active participant in the university’s political activities and joined the newly formed East Pakistan Muslim Students’ League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others. Tajuddin also witnessed the rise of the Ahsan Manzil group and the marginalization of his 150 Moghultuli factions of the Muslim League. In response, Tajuddin and his disillusioned former Muslim League colleagues founded the Awami Muslim League with Maulana Bhashani as its president. Tajuddin also became a founding member of the Jubo League, a youth organization, and was later elected to its executive committee.
The state language question became a major point of conflict between East and West Pakistan, with West Pakistan leaders advocating for Urdu as the sole state language. Tajuddin, as a Jubo League worker, participated in the movement to advance Bengali as a state language and was elected to the University State Language Action Committee. The movement gained momentum and ultimately succeeded in securing Bengali status as a state language, despite police violence against protesters. However, the Jubo League was not successful as a mainstream political party, and many of its members joined the Awami Muslim League, which emerged as East Pakistan’s most promising political party after the Language Movement.
Awami League
Tajuddin departed from Dhaka in 1951 before finishing his studies and became a master at a poorly-maintained school in Sreepur, which was near his home in Gazipur. He engaged in political activism during his visits to Dhaka and advocated for government assistance for the school. After a year and three months, he returned to Dhaka and resumed his economics studies in late 1952.
In 1953, Tajuddin joined the Awami Muslim League, and his comrade Oli Ahad followed suit. The same year, he was elected as the general secretary of the Dhaka District chapter of the party. Tajuddin took part in the Provincial Assembly elections and won by a significant margin, becoming one of the youngest elected legislators in the assembly. The Jukta Front won a majority in the election, ending the Muslim League’s dominance in East Pakistan. However, the central government dissolved the Jukta Front cabinet on the pretext of a conspiracy to secede, and Tajuddin was arrested. He earned a degree in law while in prison and became the social welfare and cultural secretary of the Awami League in 1955 after his release.
In 1958, Tajuddin was imprisoned again after a military coup led by General Ayub Khan. Under Ayub’s rule, the disparity between East and West Pakistan increased, with West Pakistan dominating politics, administration, commerce, industry, and education. The Awami League continued to gain popularity and turned towards secularism. Tajuddin became close to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one of the founders of the party. In 1962, the Awami League joined the National Democratic Front against Ayub’s regime, and Tajuddin became Mujib’s adjutant.
Six Points And 1969 Uprising
During the 1965 India-Pakistan War, the Ayub regime’s prestige suffered severe damage. Seeking to capitalize on the situation, opposition parties in Pakistan attempted to negotiate with the junta for greater democratization. They called for a conference in Lahore on 3 February 1966 and invited Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a rising leader in the Awami League, to win their support. Before the conference, President Ayub Khan visited Dhaka and invited East Pakistani political leaders, including Sheikh Mujib, for a talk. Tajuddin, a close confidante of Mujib, drafted a list of demands, which he called the precursor to the historic six-point demand. However, Ayub Khan did not receive the demands at the time.
At the Lahore Conference, Sheikh Mujib and Tajuddin presented a revised version of the six-point demand to the committee, calling for a new constitution to ensure provincial autonomy on key matters. However, West Pakistani leaders present at the conference rejected the demand, viewing it as a secessionist proposal.
In March 1966, Sheikh Mujib was elected president, and Tajuddin its general secretary at the Awami League’s party council. The six points became the voice of East Pakistan but faced opposition from the military junta and West Pakistan political parties, who saw it as a threat to Pakistan’s unity. Tajuddin was arrested in 1966, and in 1968, Sheikh Mujib and other East Pakistani military officials were arrested in the Agartala Conspiracy Case.
In 1969, the Ayub regime began to show signs of compromise in the face of a popular uprising. Ayub Khan announced a conference in Rawalpindi on 17 February 1969 with opposition parties, including the Awami League, but the Awami League refused to attend without the release of Sheikh Mujib. After a legal battle, Mujib was released unconditionally and attended the conference, where the six points faced strong opposition from West Pakistani politicians.
The conference resulted in Ayub Khan’s resignation and General Yahya Khan taking over as president. Yahya imposed martial law, abrogated the Constitution, and promised a general election.
1970 general election
On December 7, 1970, Pakistan held its first general election after years of military rule. The National Assembly had 300 parliamentary seats, with East and West Pakistan holding 162 and 138 seats respectively. The Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, won 160 seats in East Pakistan and none in West Pakistan, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, won 81 seats in West Pakistan and no seats in East Pakistan. Tajuddin was elected from his constituency, and with the Awami League in the majority in the assembly, they began drafting a constitution proposal before the assembly was inaugurated.
The Awami League’s victory caused anxiety among the West Pakistani opposition parties and the military junta. Bhutto desired a coalition between the two and asserted that Punjab and Sindh were “bastions of power,” necessary for any central government to function. Tajuddin responded that the Awami League was competent to form the central government without any party’s support.
After Yahya Khan postponed the inaugural session of the National Assembly indefinitely, Sheikh Mujib called for non-cooperation and took control of East Pakistan. Tajuddin, Kamal Hossain, and Amir-ul Islam were put in charge of drafting directives. Non-cooperation was successful, and on March 7, 1971, Sheikh Mujib called for an indefinite general strike. On March 15, Tajuddin issued 35 directives, and Yahya Khan arrived in Dhaka for a series of meetings. Mujib urged Yahya to withdraw martial law and offered his assistants to meet with Yahya’s legal experts. Yahya accepted the offer, and Kamal Hossain and Tajuddin made progress. However, on March 25, Yahya’s delegation secretly left Dhaka, killing any hope for a peaceful settlement.
Bangladesh Liberation War
Despite Yahya Khan’s promise to resume talks on 25 March, there was widespread fear of an imminent armed conflict. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman instructed his workers to flee to safety but refused to do so himself until 25 March, as he was concerned it would be used as an excuse to kill innocent Pakistanis. Tajuddin also stayed in Dhaka until 25 March, the night Yahya left and the Pakistan Army began killing thousands of people.
The Awami League leadership was taken by surprise and scattered in different directions to find safety, losing contact with each other for several days. Tajuddin and Amir-ul Islam left Dhaka secretly on 27 March and learned later that Sheikh Mujib had been arrested on the night of 25 March after declaring Bangladesh’s independence on the radio.
After a dangerous journey mostly on foot, Tajuddin and Amir-ul Islam crossed the Indian border on 30 March where they were received by the regional head of the Indian Border Security Force, Golok Majumdar. They had discussions with the BSF chief Rustamji in Kolkata on 30 March and the next day. On 1 April, accompanied by Majumdar, Tajuddin, and Islam left for Delhi on a military cargo plane.
Formation of Bangladesh Government in Exile
Tajuddin had two meetings with India’s Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi in Delhi on 4 and 5 April. During their second meeting, Gandhi revealed to him that Sheikh Mujib had been arrested and transported to Pakistan, although Pakistan had not confirmed this yet. When asked about the Bangladesh government, Tajuddin informed her that a provisional government had been formed with Sheikh Mujib as its president and himself as the prime minister. The whereabouts of the other members were unknown. India opened its borders to Bangladeshi refugees and allowed the Bangladesh Government to operate within Indian territory. India promised to help the Bangladeshi liberation war by any means possible.
Tajuddin’s meeting with the Indian prime minister caused an uproar among some of the Awami League leadership, especially youth and student leaders, who saw it as sidelining them. When Tajuddin returned to Kolkata on 8 April, he met with the group of leaders and informed them of the outcomes of the Delhi meeting, including the provisional government. Some questioned his legitimacy as prime minister, while Sheikh Mani rejected the idea of the cabinet outright and proposed setting up a revolutionary council dedicated to conducting armed resistance only. After mediation by Qamaruzzaman, most of the leadership accepted Tajuddin’s proposal.
Tajuddin believed that a legitimate government could muster the international support necessary for the liberation war, so he remained committed to the idea of a provisional government. On 10 April, accompanied by Amir-ul Islam, Sheikh Mani, and others, he boarded an old Dakota plane borrowed from the Indian government and set off in search of other cabinet members scattered around the borders. After picking up cabinet members from various places on the way, on 11 April, the entourage arrived in Agartala, where many other Awami League leaders had taken refuge.
Before reaching Agartala, Tajuddin’s first radio speech as the prime minister of Bangladesh was broadcast from a clandestine radio station arranged by Golok Majumdar during their stop in Shiliguri on 10 April. In his speech, Tajuddin informed the people of Bangladesh of the formation of the government and the war’s progress. He praised the spontaneous armed resistances taking place in various parts of the country and recognized their leaders. He also gave instructions to the people on the conduct of the war and asked the international community to express solidarity with the freedom struggle of Bangladesh.
The Awami League leadership in Agartala pondered the cabinet agenda and distributing cabinet offices. In the absence of President Sheikh Mujib, Syed Nazrul Islam served as acting president, Khondaker Mostaq took the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qamarauzzaman was given the State Minister’s office, Mansur Ali the Finance Minister’s, and Colonel Osmani was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The entire cabinet returned to Kolkata on 13 April, set to take oath at an as-yet-unoccupied place in Bangladesh.
The oath-taking ceremony took place on 17 April 1971 at a village called Baidyanathtala in Kushtia district, on Bangladeshi soil. Professor Yusuf Ali read the proclamation of independence, drafted by Amir-ul Islam and reviewed by Subrata Roy Chowdhury. Answering a journalist during the ceremony, Tajuddin named the place Mujibnagar after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Later the government-in-exile came to be popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government. The government settled in Kolkata in exile for the rest of the war.
Assembling Liberation War
Pakistani forces took control of most of Bangladesh by late April, starting from Dhaka and other major cities. As a result, refugees flooded into neighboring Indian states, especially West Bengal and Tripura, with their number eventually reaching ten million. Bengali soldiers in Pakistani battalions revolted and offered resistance against Pakistani forces throughout Bangladesh. They formed the Bangladesh Forces (BDF), also known as Mukti Bahini, with Colonel M A G Osmani as its commander-in-chief. Young people put up armed resistance but were eventually forced to retreat into Indian territory due to a lack of heavy arms and manpower. The irregular guerrilla warriors were called Gono Bahini or Muktijoddha (Freedom Fighter), while the regular force was named Mukti Fouj.
Under Tajuddin’s leadership, many Bengali bureaucrats, diplomats, and military officers serving Pakistan defected to the new Government of Bangladesh, and a capable civil administration was established. Tajuddin divided occupied Bangladesh into nine administrative zones, later increasing the number to eleven, for administrative convenience, with each zonal council chaired by an elected legislator. Tajuddin also employed capable diplomats, such as economist Rehman Sobhan, to stop the economic advisor to Pakistani president Yahya Khan from acquiring fresh foreign aid for Pakistan and persuade Bangladeshi officials serving at Pakistani foreign missions to switch allegiance to Bangladesh.
Despite his efforts, Tajuddin faced various problems originating from within his party, such as a lack of coordination among various government bodies and a faction within the Awami League denouncing his premiership. The Chhatra League, the student wing of the Awami League, and the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF), later known as Mujib Bahini, clashed with the regular forces at various places. Tajuddin expressed his concern about Mujib Bahini to Indian officials and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but the situation never improved. In addition, Minister of Foreign Affairs Khondaker Mushtaq Ahmad established a liaison with the United States without the Government’s knowledge and spread the ‘either freedom or Mujib’ doctrine. In September, 40 members of the national and provincial assemblies of the South Zone expressed dissatisfaction with Tajuddin’s performance as prime minister and demanded his resignation from the cabinet and Awami League.
Post-Independence Career
The Pakistani occupation forces in Bangladesh surrendered at Dhaka on December 16, 1971, ending nine months of the war. Tajuddin and his cabinet returned to Dhaka, which had become the capital of the newly independent Bangladesh, on December 22, 1971. In his address at the Dhaka airport and the Dhaka Secretariat the following day, Tajuddin declared that Bangladesh would be built on the principles of socialism, democracy, and secularism. On December 23, the Tajuddin government announced that all enlisted and non-enlisted freedom fighters would be inducted into a National Militia. The priority of the Tajuddin administration was to restore law and order in the newly independent country.
After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was released from nine months of imprisonment in Pakistan, he returned to Dhaka on January 10, 1972. Tajuddin and Mujib met privately on January 11 to decide on the future leadership. Tajuddin agreed to transfer the prime minister’s office to Mujib, as it was the popular wish. Mujib initially proposed a presidential government, but Tajuddin insisted on a parliamentary system, which Mujib eventually accepted. Tajuddin was put in charge of the Ministry of Finance and Planning in the reformed cabinet, with Sheikh Mujib as prime minister. Tajuddin was also appointed a member of the committee in charge of drafting the Constitution of Bangladesh.
As the minister of finance, Tajuddin was strongly opposed to foreign aid, particularly from the United States. He regarded the World Bank as a tool for US domination. Tajuddin’s response to World Bank president Robert McNamara’s visit to Bangladesh in 1972 was cold, and their meeting ended without any positive outcome. In the first Bangladesh National Budget in 1972, Tajuddin announced the nationalization of industries, which received strong criticism. Tajuddin and Nurul Islam, a fellow planning commission member, argued that public enterprises could find enough skilled manpower to run them, just as private enterprises could, and implemented their policies accordingly.
In the newly independent country, the Mujib government faced numerous problems. A dissident group of Chatra League, Awami League’s student wing, formed a political party called Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) in late 1972. The ongoing economic crisis led to a famine in 1974, and anti-Awami League sentiment was on the rise.
Tajuddin found himself increasingly isolated by rival factions within the new Awami League and cabinet. He and Mujib disagreed on several issues, including the National Militia scheme, which Tajuddin proposed, and was subsequently abandoned. Instead, a paramilitary force called the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini, dominated by the members of the Mujib Bahini, was formed. Tajuddin’s frustration with the government and his party grew quickly. There were rumors that he wanted to resign from the cabinet. The newly formed political party Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal approached him, but he declined their offer. After a month-long state tour, Tajuddin resolved to resign from the cabinet in September 1974, but before he could act, his intention to resign reached the top of the government. Within days of his return from the tour in October, the prime minister ordered him to resign. Tajuddin resigned from the cabinet on October 26, 1974, and remained largely inactive in politics after that.
In early 1975, Sheikh Mujib initiated radical reforms in the government and its administration. The Constitution was amended on January 25, 1975, to introduce a presidential form of government, with Mujib becoming president.
Personal Life
Tajuddin tied the knot with Syeda Zohra Khatun (died 20 December 2013) on 26 April 1959. Zohra was the daughter of a professor, and they had four children together. Three daughters named Sharmin Ahmad (Reepi), Simeen Hussain Rimi, and Mahjabin Ahmad (Mimi), as well as a son named Tanjim Ahmad Sohel Taj. Despite being highly supportive of Tajuddin’s political activism, Zohra did not engage in politics during his lifetime.
Following the assassinations of Sheikh Mujib and Tajuddin, she took charge of the Awami League and led it from 1975 to 1981. Tajuddin’s eldest daughter, Sharmin Ahmad, is an author and activist, while his son, Sohel Taj, is a health and fitness activist who served as a minister of state for Home Affairs in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s cabinet in 2009. Additionally, his second daughter, Simeen Hussain, was elected as a member of parliament for the Awami League in 2012.
‘Dolonchapa’ is a secret pseudonym Tajuddin sometimes used when he wrote chits to his wife. Simeen Hussain Rimi, the second daughter of Tajuddin Ahmad pointed out that a main subject of her father were the people he met — not just his colleagues at meetings, but common men too; a farmer, a boatman, and so on.
Tajuddin Ahmad was an extremely thorough person. He wrote his diary entries in English with great care, making only a few corrections and hardly any cross-outs. In addition, he maintained a log of his daily waking and sleeping times. Each entry in the log started with “Rise: 6 am” and ended with “Bed 11 pm”, for instance. From big events to weather, he kept note of everything.
He was a man of his word. He was punctual, thoughtful, and respectful. He understood the life of each person and loved his people like no other. He was both pragmatic and highly regimented, adhering to a routine that included morning exercise and a love of gardening.
Despite his elevated status as a leader, he possessed a remarkable simplicity that inspired awe. Following the war, he assumed the role of finance and planning minister and would often venture out on his bicycle to survey markets for insights ahead of the national budget, much to the consternation of his security detail. According to Rimi, his security officer, there were even occasions when his car broke down, and Tajuddin himself assisted in pushing it.
Tajuddin washed his own clothes, taking great care to ensure they were properly laid out and not crumpled when drying. During the Liberation War, Tajuddin was visibly upset and unwell one day, explaining that he had been kept up by thoughts of the suffering in refugee camps during a particularly heavy rainstorm.
His humane qualities, attention to detail, discipline, hard work, analytical ability, pragmatism, honesty, and humility draw inspiration and strive to be a bit like him in our own lives. On June 30, 2013, Mrs. Sharmin Ahmad founded the Tajuddin Ahmad Memorial Trust Fund in honor of her father.
Death
Taking advantage of the increasing unpopularity of the Sheikh Mujib government, a faction of the army staged a coup on 15 August 1975, resulting in the death of Sheikh Mujib and much of his extended family. Khondaker Mushtaq Ahmad, who was involved in the plot and held a position in Sheikh Mujib’s cabinet, assumed the presidency and declared martial law.
Immediately after the assassinations, Tajuddin was placed under house arrest, and on 22 August, he and other Awami League leaders, Syed Nazrul Islam, A H M Qamaruzzaman, and Muhammad Mansur Ali, were arrested and imprisoned at the Dhaka Central Jail. On 3 November, during a second coup to overthrow the Mostaq regime, referred to as the “Jail Killing Day,” Tajuddin and the other three imprisoned leaders were killed inside the jail by a group of army officers under the instruction of President Mostaq.
Legacy
Tajuddin was an important leader in the Awami League and helped make decisions for the party and government. He worked with experts in different fields and was a bridge between them and other leaders. He kept detailed diaries about politics and events in the 1940s and 1950s. A documentary film about his life and work was released in 2007. A medical college in Gazipur is named after him.
Remembrance
Just right after independence, American news magazine Time described him:
“Tajuddin Ahmed, 46. Prime Minister, a lawyer who has been a chief organizer in the Awami League since its founding in 1949. He is an expert in economics and is considered one of the party’s leading intellectuals.”
Tajuddin’s daughter Simeen Hussain Rimi said:
“There was always something or other we got to learn from him. He was like a magnet to us. It felt like he was a teacher showing the path towards light.”
Bangladeshi economist Nurul Islam said about him:
“I had known and worked closely with Tajuddin before and after independence. He was not only a patriot but also in my view the most serious minded, conscientious and competent as well as the most hardworking among the Ministers. Tajuddin usually took the views of the Planning Commission seriously and, if convinced, strongly supported them during Cabinet discussions. The entire Planning Commission had great respect for him.”
Moreover, economist professor Rehman Sobhan, recalls his golden experience of working with Tajuddin in drafting the constitution after the 1970 election:
“…Tajuddin Ahmad was quite as fertile in his contributions as any of the academics demonstration deep political insight dialectical skill and an extraordinary capacity to absorb and break down complicated technical issues to their basic essentials.”
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এই ওয়েবসাইটের সমস্ত বিষয়বস্তু সরল বিশ্বাসে এবং শুধুমাত্র সাধারণ তথ্যের উদ্দেশ্যে প্রদান করা হয়েছে। একটি জীবনী তথ্যের সম্পূর্ণতা, নির্ভরযোগ্যতা বা সঠিকতা সম্পর্কে কোন গ্যারান্টি দেয় না। এই ওয়েবসাইটের উপাদানের ফলস্বরূপ আপনি যে কোনও পদক্ষেপ গ্রহণ করেন তা সম্পূর্ণরূপে আপনার নিজের ঝুঁকিতে। একটি জীবনী আমাদের ওয়েবসাইট ব্যবহার করার ফলে কোনো ক্ষতি বা ক্ষতির জন্য দায়ী নয়।